A few more notes from Monday’s Nevada City Council meeting

Wednesday

Aug 16, 2017 at 12:01 AMAug 16, 2017 at 8:46 AM

By Marlys Barker Nevada Journal Editor

A few more things of interest from Monday’s City Council meeting:

• Former ISU football player and Gilbert High School graduate Cory Morrissey was sworn in as Nevada’s newest police officer, bringing the force to full capacity. The Journal will followup with a story about Morrissey in the near future.

• Chuck Schadt, owner of George’s Pizza in Nevada, which is preparing for a move to Sixth Street, right across from Nevada’s city hall, was present at the meeting to ask about a liquor license for his business at its new location during Lincoln Highway Days, which is coming up Aug. 25, 26 and 27. The biggest problem is that Schadt’s remodeling of the building where his business will be located is still a work in progress, and doesn’t yet meet all the fire safety codes or building codes that the city must approve before granting a liquor license or for him to have people in the building.

But, the city was gracious in agreeing that if Schadt is able to work round the clock, as he said he would be, and his electrical, plumbing and other code requirements are completed by Aug. 25, council members agreed they would hold a special meeting that day, in fact, to approve a liquor license for him. Schadt was thankful that they would agree to that and said that if he isn’t ready by Aug. 25, he understands that he wouldn’t want to go through with it. But he hopes to get his people on board and make the deadline if possible.

• The council approved a resolution agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for federal aid to finance improvements at the Lincoln Highway and West 18th Street (Airport Road) intersection. City engineer Larry Stevens said the plan is to have the project ready for bid this winter; award the project in March 2018; and have construction begin in May or June of 2018.

• New Nevada Library Director Shanna Speer, who has been promoted from the assistant position to the head position, said the library is now in a search for a new assistant librarian.

Speer also shared a fun opportunity for people who want to watch the upcoming Solar Eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, which is supposed to happen in the early afternoon. She said the library will have safety glasses for the first 200 people who come to view the eclipse at the library. She said they plan to start around 11 a.m. with a presentation on the safety that goes with viewing this and other things of interest. All residents are welcome to attend.

• Nevada Fire Chief Ray Reynolds said he was part of a number of test burns on stover last week at the ISU research farm. He said he’s learned some design things that work really well and some that don’t work as well. “I think we’re really coming along with DuPont … and coming out with the best practices in fighting stover fires.” Reynolds has been going through quite a bit of training in past months on stover fires and said all of this should pay off in keeping Nevada’s firefighters safe.

• Street Department Superintendent Mike Neal announced that the city recently passed its yearly EPA testing.

• Public Safety Director Ricardo Martinez said Sergeant Tracy Schmidt will be a liaison for the Lincoln Highway Days celebration this year and it would be the first time for him to serve in that capacity. Martinez also said his department has been contacted by the chief of the Iowa State Police and has been asked about helping at ISU football games this fall. “We’re working out some details,” Martinez said. “My officers are very excited about that possibility.” Martinez said he’d report back at a future meeting about this.